Not applicable
The present invention pertains to portable inhalation devices for permitting a user to inhale a medicated vapor spray, which may include powders, liquids, or gases, and in particular to means for assisting actuation of such devices.
People suffering from asthma and other respiratory diseases or disabilities have difficulty breathing from time to time, the breathing difficulty depending upon the activity in which the person with the respiratory disease is engaged in, the degree of inflammation of respiratory tissues and other stresses the individual may be under. A number of medications are available to alleviate the debilitating symptoms or to restore normal breathing. A large number of these medications are dispensed from aerosol-like dispensers as a vapor to be inhaled directly into the lungs of the person needing medication. The dispenser may include an outlet port which the user places in the mouth, the lips providing a seal to ensure passage of the medication through the users mouth for inhalation into his or her lungs. Actuation of the devices generally requires a compressive force exerted on the aerosol container by the users hand, after the outlet port is placed within the mouth.
Conventional dispensers are usually two piece structures, consisting of a housing which contains the mouthpiece which is also adapted to receive the aerosol cannister (can) which contains the medication under pressure. The aerosol can is inserted into the housing so that the outlet of the aerosol can is pointed down or oriented downward with the outlet adjacent the mouthpiece of the housing with the opposite or bottom end of the aerosol can projecting upwardly. The user then can place the housing between the thumb and forefinger and use the thumb and forefinger or the thumb and fingers to force the can downwardly thus releasing a burst of the medicated spray into the mouthpiece of the housing.
For persons having normal manual dexterity and strength actuation of the spray is not a problem. However, there are a number of people who must use inhalers that may also suffer from debilitating effects and limitations which result from such joint diseases such as arthritis. Many of these people no longer have the requisite strength or manual dexterity to compress the inhalers. In order to aid those persons with less than requisite manual dexterity a number of devices have been proposed.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,456,644. 3,456,645, 3,636,949, 3,565,070, 3,789,843, 3,826,413, 4,576,157 and 4,649,393 are representative of the state of the art of inhalation devices featuring various types of actuation mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,343 is drawn to a inhalation device that is directed to the problem of an inhaler that can be actuated by a person with less than the requisite manual dexterity or strength.
The present invention pertains to inhaler assistive devices that can be accomplished by either a separate apparatus that can be used with conventional inhalers without modification of the convention inhaler, or modification of the housing of the conventional inhaler that receives the aerosol container. In either case a simple lever mechanism is used to provide increased mechanical advantage to the user of the inhaler so that a user with less than requisite manual dexterity and/or strength can actuate the inhaler with ease and comfort.
Therefore, in one aspect, the present invention is an apparatus for enabling a user having diminished manual dexterity to use an inhaler of the type having, a housing to removeably receive an aerosol can, the can having a medication discharge end opposite a generally flat end, the can containing medication under pressure, the housing having a mouthpiece to direct medication into the mouth of the user when the user applies pressure to the flat end of the can inserted in the housing, the improvement comprising: a generally elongated body adapted to receiving and hold the housing and the can so that the user can position the mouthpiece for dispensing of the medication, the body having a portion projecting above the bottom of the aerosol can; means in the portion of the body projecting above the bottom of the aerosol can to enable a user to effect greater pressure on the flat end of the can than the user, with diminished strength or manual dexterity, could produce manually.
In another aspect, the present invention is an apparatus for enabling a user having diminished strength or manual dexterity to use an inhaler of the type having a housing to removeably receive an aerosol can, the can having a medication discharge end opposite a generally flat end, the can containing medication under pressure, the housing having a mouthpiece to direct medication into the mouth of the user when the user applies pressure to the bottom of the can inserted in the housing, the improvement comprising: a body adapted to surround and frictionally engage a portion of the housing, the body adapted to support means to enable a user to effect greater pressure on the flat end of the can than the user, with diminished manual dexterity, could produce manually.
In still another aspect, the present invention is an apparatus for enabling a user having diminished strength or manual dexterity to use an inhaler of the type having a housing to removably receive an aerosol can, the can having a medication discharge end opposite a generally flat end, the can containing medication under pressure, the housing having a mouthpiece to direct medication into the mouth of the user when the user applies pressure to the bottom of the can inserted in the housing, the improvement comprising: constructing the housing with a face side extending from the mouthpiece to a location above the bottom of the aerosol can, means in a portion of the face side extending above the bottom of the can to receive means to contact the flat end of the aerosol can the means adapted to permit the user to exert increased force on the flat end of the can to permit dispensing of medication from the can.
In a further aspect, the present invention is an apparatus for enabling a user having diminished strength or manual dexterity to use an inhaler of the type having a housing to removeably receive an aerosol can, the can having a medication discharge end opposite a generally flat end: the can containing medication under pressure, the housing having a mouthpiece to direct medication into the mouth of the user when the user applies pressure to the bottom of the can inserted in the housing, the improvement comprising: to force enhancing means adapted to be removeably attached to the housing at a location above the mouthpiece and proximate a face of the housing extending vertically from the mouthpiece the force enhancing means having a generally flat elongated user contact surface portion disposed generally perpendicular to a generally flat extension portion the extension portion having a length so that when the force enhancing means is fixed to the housing the contact surface overlies and projects beyond the flat end of the aerosol can in a direction away from the mouthpiece, whereby when a user exerts force on the contact surface, the force enhancing means causes the aerosol can to dispense the medication.
In an additional aspect, the present invention is an apparatus wherein the force enhancing means includes a pair of mounting arms extending for a portion of the length of and generally parallel to the user contact surface portion with an inwardly projecting pivot fixed to each end of each of the arms opposite to where the extension portion is fixed to the user contact surface portion; and the housing has means to receive the pivots.
In yet another aspect, the present invention is an apparatus for enabling a user having diminished manual dexterity to use an inhaler of the type having a housing to removeably receive an aerosol can, the can having a medication discharge end opposite a generally flat end, the can containing medication under pressure, the housing having a mouthpiece to direct medication into the mouth of the user when the user applies pressure to the bottom of the can inserted in the housing, the improvement comprising: a generally elongated mounting piece adapted to be removeably fixed to the housing, the mounting piece having an aperture at one end, the aperture adapted to removeably and pivotably receive a lever arm, the mounting piece positioned on the housing so that the aperture is above the flat end of the aerosol can; lever means positioned in the mounting piece in contact with the flat end of the aerosol can to enable a user to effect greater pressure on the bottom of the can than the user, with diminished manual dexterity, could produce manually.